The Swift-ID SID400 is a UHF EPCglobal Gen 2, USB-connected reader/writer powered by a RAIN-compliant Impinj Indy RS2000 module. It provides a 16-pin terminal block with four GPIO ports, and 5V and 12V outputs. Its USB 2.0-to-serial bridge with configurable vendor ID allows for white label solutions. The SID400 accommodates four antennas. System functions can be monitored through status LEDs.

The Swift-ID IOT180 embedded Android computer

The Swift-ID IOT180 is a full-featured embedded Android computer. Running Android 6.0 Marshmallow, it has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of ROM, with enough memory and storage for sophisticated applications. The included Google Mobile Services (GMS) allows the IOT180 to provide integrated Android for Work (AfW) management capabilities and Google-specific services. The IOT180 connects to the cloud or private networks using Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth and optional 3.75G HSPA+ cellular.

SDG System’s middleware provides a full-featured SDK to control RFID reading and writing, settings and GPIOs. With additional software the IOT180 can be configured into kiosk mode and managed remotely.

The SID400 and IOT180’s flexibility gives RFID cloud and fog computing options to solution providers. It lets developers build applications that process data at high speeds, providing shorter response times and better analytics.

The SID400, IOT180 and SDG Systems software will be demonstrated May 8-11 at RFID Journal Live 2017 in booth #938. The solutions, expected to be available in June 2017, can be purchased from either The Swiftsure Group or SDG Systems.

About Swift-ID

Swift-ID is a collaboration between The Swiftsure Group and SDG Systems to provide affordable, powerful, turnkey RFID other IOT solutions.

About The Swiftsure Group

The Swiftsure Group is a systems developer and integrator specializing in RFID- and sensor-based technologies for inventory, asset and workflow management. Since 1998 it has provided consulting services, turnkey solutions and project management for automatic data capture, resource optimization and business process improvement.

It’s not uncommon to see press releases touting the newest “smallest” tag, and size has definitely shrunk over the last few years, making RFID a less cumbersome, more affordable asset management solution.

The NCSU tag, though, promises to take design a step further with technology that eliminates the hardware an RFID tag needs to convert alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC).

The new tag is .6 mm x .3 mm.

That’s smaller than a slice of a grain of sand. A sliver of half a honeybee brain. Tinier than a fruit fly egg.

New RFID tags are smaller than a fruit fly egg

Perhaps easier to picture, it’s the size of a lower case “o” printed in Times New Roman 5.

Passive RFID tags use rectifiers to convert AC power to DC. NCSU’s innovation enables the tag’s logic to run directly from a radio signal, with circuits operating from AC power. The redesign makes a rectifier unnecessary.

“By eliminating the hardware that is used to convert the AC signal to DC for powering the circuit, we are able to make the RFID tag much smaller and less expensive,” said Paul Franzon, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at NCSU and the paper’s senior author.

The tags, with technology dubbed RF-only logic, have less range than a conventional EPC Class 1 Gen-2 passive RFID tag.

Reduced tag size often comes at the expense of read range. That works for some situations, such as near field communication (NFC) for access control and pay-by-phone. But tracking and managing assets in many environments – such as retail, data centers, manufacturing and supply chains – require read ranges of up to 20 feet.

The NCSU engineering team expects to develop RFID tags with similar range. If its technology evolves to allow minute tags with sufficient read range, it could dramatically improve high-speed automation processes and enable sensor applications with relatively small investments.

NCSU presented its paper on the miniaturized RFID tag May 5 at the IEEE RFID 2016 conference in Orlando, Florida.